YANKEES SPLIT 4 GAME SERIES WITH RAYS

Friday night Gerrit Cole pitched the first game of a 4 game series against the Rays and pitched a solid six innings. He gave up one run and struck out 8, earning his 3rd win of the season. His only run was a home run by Brandon Lowe in the sixth inning. That was also the only run the Rays scored. The Yankees won 6-1. The Yankees scored 4 runs in the third inning. Ben Rice and Aaron Judge walked and Juan Soto hit a bunt. Rice scored on a ground out by Alex Verdugo. Austin Wells also walked and Anthony Volpe hit a bases clearing double. In the fourth inning Soto hit a double and ultimately scored due to a fielding error at second base. Soto hit another double in the sixth inning and scored off a single by Judge. Zach Eflin earned the loss for the Rays.

Saturday, Nestor Cortes pitched against Taj Bradley. Unfortunately for the Yankees, Bradley had great performance on the mound as he remained unbeaten through seven starts. He pitched 7 innings and gave up 1 hit, 0 runs and struck out 5. Cortes pitched 4 1/3 innings, gave up 6 runs and only struck out 1. The Rays won 9-1. The Yankees only run came in the ninth inning against Kevin Kelly. Juan Soto hit a triple and scored on a ground out by Jahmai Jones. Alex Jackson hit a 3 run home run, Isaac Paredes hit a solo home run and Randy Arozarena hit a solo home run to contribute to the Rays’ score.

Sunday, Marcus Stroman pitched against Shane Baz. Stroman pitched 5 1/3 innings, gave up 2 runs on 5 hits and struck out 5. Not a bad start. The Rays used 6 more pitchers after Baz pitched 3 1/3 innings. The Yankees had the bases loaded twice but couldn’t score any runs. Richie Palacios hit a solo home run in his first at bat giving the Rays a lead of 1-0 in the first inning. They scored 2 more runs in the fourth inning off a solo home run by Randy Arozarena and a RBI single by Jose Caballero. Jose Siri added 2 more runs in the sixth inning with a 2 run home run. Baz and 3 relief pitchers held the Yankees to zero runs til the seventh inning. Oswaldo Cabrera reached on a bunt, Juan Soto hit a single and Aaron Judge brought them all home with a home run. The Yankees were only down 2 runs but Caballero hit a solo run run in the eighth inning. The Yankees now down 3 runs in the ninth inning were only able to score 1 more run. Ben Rice walked and scored on a double by Soto. The Rays won 6-4. Aaron Boone was ejected in the seventh inning for arguing a strike against Alex Verdugo.

Monday, Carlos Rodon took the mound against Zack Littell. Rodon pitched a great game; 7 innings, 1 run on 2 hits and 10 strike outs. He earned his 10th win of the season. Little pitched 5 2/3 innings and gave up 5 runs and struck out 6. The Yankees had a night of home runs. In the second inning Austin Wells and Anthony Volpe hit back to back home runs. Oswaldo Cabrera hit a 2 run RBI single in the fourth inning. DJ LeMahieu hit a solo home run in the fifth inning. Juan Soto hit a solo home run in the sixth inning and a 3 run home run in the eighth inning. The Yankees won 9-1. Jose Siri scored the Rays’ only run.

In other news, Giancarlo Stanton and Clarke Schmidt are nearing returns soon. Stanton could be back as early as this week.

The Yankees head into a subway series rematch with the NY Mets on Tuesday.